Alan Freeman: solid display on Sunday.

Young guns aim to impress

Dressed to impress. A posse of young guns turned out for Mayo in their second round FBD Connaught League clash at James Stephens Park, Ballina, on a bitterly cold but dry Sunday afternoon and the message to the new management was clear - pick me.

For joint managers Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly - who saw their side win convincingly by 0-15 to 0-6 against IT Sligo in Ballina - the headache is only starting as they will have to make some tough calls in the coming weeks before they decide on their panel for the national league.

It may seem an enviable task but it is clearly going to be a difficult one on the evidence of this game, with every player trying their best to stake a claim.

It was a lively display all round, although it must be said IT Sligo were a shade disappointing and maybe their focus is already on the Sigerson Cup rather than the Connaught league as this was their second defeat.

But Mayo were more than interested. They created and finished some commendable scores in a lively forward division where the old reliables, Alan Freeman and Kevin McLoughlin, led by example and used their experience to good effect.

Evan Regan had his best game since returning to the Mayo fold, while debutantes Peter Dravins and Morgan Lyons didn’t do their prospects any harm, the latter unlucky not to score a spectacular goal when the butt of the post denied him.

At the back, the major talking point was the display of Donal Vaughan, who had a fine game at full-back, beating his man to every ball, while the half-back line of Michael Hall, Keith Rogers and Patrick Durcan did well, the latter really putting in a great man-marking job on Ryan McHugh.

McHugh had the chance to put his side back in the frame when he was taken down early in the second half but his penalty was driven wide of the posts and after that it became one-way traffic, with Mayo hitting five unanswered points to seal the deal with 15 minutes still remaining.

The best of those points, if not the score of the game, came from Alex Corduff, who stood in for Gavin Duffy, the rugby international unable to take his place due to a problem with his transfer papers.

However, a disappointing aspect to Mayo’s game was their failure to score at least two goals, with one or two players refusing to take on the responsibility of having a go, and this is surely something management will be addressing when they reflect on this game ahead of their clash with Roscommon next Sunday.

Overall, it was a positive performance from Mayo, who led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval, Freeman and Regan the two men very much in form in that first half, while David Clarke, who had a superb game besides, gifted the Sligo boys one of their points, three of which came from frees, Claremorris man Brian Gallagher getting their only point from play in that half, and a fine point at that from distance.

The penalty might well have spurred the visitors to greater things but Mayo were very much in command for the last 20 minutes, McLoughlin leading by example in the attack as the bench was emptied, and maybe we might at last see Gavin Duffy make his début next Sunday.

But, for the moment, it is a second win and as any manager will tell you,  there is nothing like winning to build confidence - and Mayo are pretty buoyant at the moment.

Man of the match
There were a few in the hunt, notably Alan Freeman, Donal Vaughan and Evan Regan, but Kevin McLoughlin stood up when Mayo needed leadership and direction in the second half and remains one of Mayo’s top players.

Talking point
There were two main ones. Firstly, the naming of Gavin Duffy on the teamsheet to partner Barry Moran and his inability to start due to his transfer papers not being in order. The other was the display of Donal Vaughan at full-back. Almost foot perfect.

Turning point
Perhaps the penalty miss by Ryan McHugh signalled the end of the challenge from the students, but it was the point immediately after that miss from Kevin McLoughlin which saw Mayo kick into a higher gear as they picked off a variety of good scores, the pick of which was a monster effort from the impressive Corduff, who looks to have a future with Mayo.

Next up
For Mayo there's a third round clash with the Rossies on Sunday in MacHale Park. Interesting!

Teams and scorers

Mayo: D. Clarke, K. Keane, D. Vaughan, S. Duffy, M. Hall, K. Rogers, P. Durcan, A. Corduff (0-1), B. Moran, K. McLoughlin (0-3,1f), M. Lyons (0-1), P. Dravins (0-1), E. Regan (0-3), A. Freeman (0-4, 1f), M. Sweeney (0-1).
Subs used: D. McHugh for K. Keane (ht), C. Barrett for P. Durcan (45), J. Doherty for M. Hall (45), J. Gibbons for A. Corduff (51), M. Ronaldson (0-1) for M. Sweeney (55).
IT Sligo: A. McCallig, S. Doak, M. McWeeney, D. McConnon, C. Kenny, S. McManus, P. Varley, S. Henry, B. Gallagher (0-1), R. McHugh (0-1), E. Jordan, C. Mulryan, D. Quinn, C. Thomson, C. Clinton (0-4, 4f).
Subs used: T. Taylor for D. Quinn (17), R. Gallagher for D. McCormack (40), M. Rock for S. McManus (BC, 43), J. Mannion for A. MCallig (55).

Referee

Michael Duffy (Sligo).